1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to beverage coolers and dispensers and more particularly to a hitch mounted keg beverage dispenser for mounting on a hitch assembly of a vehicle for transporting, cooling and dispensing the liquid contents of a pressurized keg.
2. Background Art
Beer is commonly sold in pressurized metal kegs and dispensed directly from the keg during picnics, parties and the like. Half, quarter and one-eighth kegs of beer are widely available from distributors and retailers, and a usually pre-chilled. These metal kegs are heavy and are typically transported by the purchaser to the site where they will be used, and after arrival are placed in a large was tub or trash can and surrounded by crushed ice to keep the beer cold. Beer is dispensed from these kegs by first pressurizing the keg with a manual air pump or by introducing pressurized carbon dioxide into the keg from a canister, and then drawing the beer from the keg through a spout, spigot or tap. However, various problems have been associated with this practice.
It is typically preferred that the pre-chilled keg remain in a chilled condition, or at least not reach an elevated temperature, at all times for best flavor. Thus, one of the problems associated with this practice is that if the point of purchase is a long distance from the site where the beer will be dispensed, there is a likelihood that the beer may reach an elevated temperature and lose the desired flavor.
Another problem with the use of kegs is that the transport, handling, and dispensing set-up is troublesome for the user. The full metal kegs are typically quite heavy, and are difficult to carry manually. The keg must be lifted and placed into the transporting vehicle, and then manually unloaded at the site of use and placed into the receptacle.
Insulated containers have heretofore been suggested to retard the melting of the ice and to lengthen the time during which kegs of this type can be kept cool, some of which are supported on wheels or casters. Special electric refrigerators are also commercially available for chilling and serving beer from kegs at a desired temperature. However, the insulated containers and electrical refrigeration units are also very heavy and, if the site of use is a long distance away, that must be lifted and placed into the transporting vehicle, and then manually unloaded. Another disadvantage of electrical units is that they require an accessible electrical outlet at the site of use to supply electricity and are impractical in locations where electricity is not readily accessible.
There are several patents directed toward various apparatus designed to alleviate at least some of these problems. A variety of different insulated containers have been suggested for advantageously cooling kegs with ice, some of which include an insulated housing on wheels or casters for limited portability. Others are directed to relatively large wheeled trailers having elaborate cooling systems.
Bryan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,792,692 discloses a keg cooler and dispensing bar unit having a keg enclosure in the form of an ordinary barrel for holding the keg in an upright position on the barrel floor with a bar top having a faucet fitted over the open top end of the barrel and a carbon dioxide cylinder mounted on the barrel with gas connections to the top. There is no provision for transporting the dispensing bar unit.
Woolley, U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,906 discloses a portable cooler, gasser and dispenser for keg beer and the like. The apparatus includes a compact wheeled open top cylindrical housing that receives and supports a keg, surrounding ice or other refrigerant, and on which is mounted a gas tank and dispensing tap.
McDonough, U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,853 discloses a keg cooler having an insulated container supported on wheels which receives a beer keg. Support ribs within the container provide rigidity to the container bottom and support the beer keg. Each rib has a plurality of apertures that allow the cooling media, preferably ice water, to circulate therethrough and cool the beer within the container.
Kappos, U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,059 discloses a portable insulated ice cooled container and dispenser mounted on a traveling trailer equipped with tongue and trailer hitch and attachable to a towing motor vehicle. The container holds a plurality of receptacles such as beer kegs and the like to be transported to a point of use for on-site dispensing. Dispensing hoses for the contents of the receptacles are trained through ice in an ice chamber and connect to spigots mounted on and exteriorly of the container. The trailer carries apparatus for pressurizing the contents of the receptacles and includes a jackleg for maintaining a level position of the container when detached from the towing vehicle. Separate latchable doors are provided for the ice chamber and the carrying area for the receptacles.
Lea et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,678 discloses a beer keg cooler having a container and a removable lid of relatively thick wall insulated construction larger than a keg to be accommodated by the cooler so that ice may be packed around the keg. A flexible, web shaped harness is secured to the inner wall of the container and straps of the harness are secured by buckles so that the harness can be adjusted to bridge across the container in tight engagement against the keg to secure the keg in position and to prevent the keg from floating as the ice melts. The container has a notch formed in its upper rim to accommodate beverage dispensing equipment and the lid has a central opening for the same purpose. A flexible flap over the lid opening seals any portion of the opening not required for this purpose. There is no provision for transporting the keg cooler.
Tippmann et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,188 discloses a refrigerated beverage trailer having floor, wall and roof members formed of polyurethane with a covering layer of fiberglass reinforced resinous material to form a monolithic enclosure with a closure member. Beverage dispensing spigots are provided on the side of the enclosure and a wheel and hitch assembly is secured to the floor member by the same resinous material. An aperture is provided through one wall for receiving the evaporator of a refrigeration system mounted on the outside wall of the trailer for cooling the interior of the trailer and its contents, and a generator is mounted on the hitch assembly to supply electrical power to the refrigeration system.
Williamson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,043 discloses a self-contained portable beverage dispensing system that includes a housing supported on wheels and a support leg. The housing has an interior space for containing a beverage container, a first cooling well for pre-cooling the beverage within the beverage container, and a second cooling well for cooling the beverage after it leaves the beverage container, and a gas-supply tank disposed within the interior space is used to pressurize the beverage container.
Jennings et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,238 discloses a keg server having an insulated housing supported on casters. The housing has a door and two opposed side walls with support racks on the interior of the opposed side walls that are spaced from one another to receive a keg therebetween and chiller panels containing a freezable liquid are removably received on the racks. A spout on the housing and a pressurized gas canister in the housing are connectable to the keg.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a hitch mounted self-contained keg beverage dispenser that is removably mounted on a conventional receiver hitch of a vehicle and capable of transporting a beverage keg over long distances to a site of use while maintaining the contents in a cooled condition and dispensing the contents at the site while supported on the transporting vehicle. The dispenser has a cylindrical insulated container that receives the keg and is mounted on a cross-shaped tubular platform adapted to be received in the hitch and support the container vertically proximate the vehicle rear bumper. The container may be secured in a vertically supported position on the platform and pivoted to an angular position relative to the platform to allow access to the cargo area of the vehicle. A compressed gas cylinder, a dispensing spigot and a drip tray are mounted on the side wall of the container. The keg inside the container is surrounded by ice and connected with the gas cylinder and the spigot and by hoses extending through the container side wall. The dispenser significantly reduces the time and effort involved in loading, transporting, and manually handling heavy kegs from the point of purchase to the site of use.